DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaKoi Kaze

REVIEWS

• 

  Gigifty

  80/100
  Koi Kaze - an incest Anime that hits different

  Spoiler free review!

  Part 1: Introduction

  Since the dawn of time incest was a very special genre, anime creators always used it's unique proprieties to bring forth artpieces that have peak comedic value (ex: kiss x sis), that puts you and kicks you out of your comfort zone by offering a huge contrast between excessive lewdness and purity (ex: Aki Sora) or they simply use incest as a basic premise for good tier hentai (ex: Swing Out Sisters), but almost none decided to take incest seriously. And I'm not trying to say that it is a bad genre, even if it lacks seriousness, incest is a very... interesting genre, but considering that Oedipal love is a real-world problem the anime industry really understates its weight. But fortunately for us, anime lovers, koi kaze came to change the long established situation and it does a pretty decent job at doing what close to none have done.

  Part 2: Why Koi Kaze is a good tier anime
  

  From all the shows that use inbreeding as a tool Koi Kaze is in my opinion the best option for newcomers because first of all it has a very serious down to earth aproach and also the incest is introduced very slowly in order to not stress out the viewer too much. Yes, we all inherently find incest disgusting, even I do, but even if you find it unbearably displeasing I think that Koi Kaze is sure worth giving a shot. Despite the fact that the anime has incest, it is actually a pretty well done 'forbidden love' story. Of course incest is not okay (and the couple understands that), especially considering that the age difference between the main characters is twelve years and the girl is only fifthteen, but can we really control who we fall in love with?, of course we can't and that's a big sad moment that's masterfully conveyed by Koi Kaze's creators. And yeah, it has some nice tier characters that back up the story and Kaname Chidori is quite a waifu tier lady. Other than that the anime has good looks accompanied by a lovely melancholic ost, creating an atmosphere that really sucks you in.

  Part 3: Why Koi Kaze is not a god tier anime

  With all its merits koi kaze is still far from being a masterpiece. First things first the main couple is kinda mid. Besides the fact that they are siblings and the fact that Koshiro is a pedo there isn't much interesting stuff going on between them. Compared to the majority of good couples in anime, Koshiro + Nanako lacks a good reason for their affection besides hormones and complexes which of course are realistic reasons but they don't work quite well in a story, plus i don't find their interactions entertaining or heart-warming enough. And the second problem is that the pacing might seem slow at times, that didn't bother me too much because those 'filler moments' aren't meaningless since they actually do a great job at building up the atmosphere but i totally see how someone could dislike the slower moments of the show.

  Part 4: Conclusion

  In conclusion I really hope that the next generation of Incest anime creators will take Koi Kaze as an example and create the ultimate incest anime that will improve on Kaze's shortcomings. Yes, Koi Kaze has it's flaws but it really does hit different.
  _
  (i'm feeling a good 8/10 on this one)_

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• 

  MarcoB

  95/100
  Understanding Koshiro and The Ethics of Taboo Love

  Imagine you are going out for a beer with your 27 year old buddy one day. As you guys exchange pleasantries and catch up on life, he mentions, "you know, man, I've recently been thinking about dating my 15 year old sister. I think I love her." Regardless of how open-minded you may be, the absurdity of this statement would take anyone aback, and assumptions would begin to pile in your head. Is he a pedophile? Why the hell does he want to be with his sister of all people? Is he coercing her into sex against her will? I believe that no matter how much you want to rationalize good will on behalf of your friend, the vast majority of people would struggle to sympathize with his desires. Hell, I would too. How would you go about judging him? Do you wait to hear his story and try to give him some benefit of the doubt, do you write him off as a self-absorbed predator/pervert and ignore him, or do you stand up to him that very moment? If the very idea of trying to listen to his story without completely assuming bad intentions and omitted details on the part of the 27 year old (different from skepticism) is beyond you to even consider doing, as in you would laugh at the idea of trying to give him any benefit of the doubt, then this show is not for you. As I had already mentioned, for what it's worth, I'd probably assume bad intentions as well and be thoroughly disgusted on my initial reaction, and most likely laugh because I would believe he was messing with me, but I would at least like to hear the details before I pass final judgment.

  Koi Kaze is not an easy show to enjoy. Consistently sobering in tone, there is hardly any letup or comedic relief to brighten the mood. It deals with its taboo subject matter, incest and age gap romance, in a non-exploitative, realistic portrayal that takes some getting used to fully absorb without the kneejerk reaction of visceral disgust. The subject matter, if not dealt with tactfully, can easily fall victim to depraved and/or thoughtless nonsense, particularly wish-fulfillment fetishization that glamorizes controversial subjects while glossing over the downsides. Luckily, Koi Kaze is not a show that indulges in that. Not only that, Koi Kaze is not preachy in the least; it presents ideas with no expectation that the viewer is reprehensible for disagreeing with its insinuated themes, but instead, asks the viewers to keep an open mind and understand the psyche of our protagonists Koshiro and Nanoka. This slow-burning, tragic romance is one that takes an open-minded individual to appreciate, and is certainly not recommended for everyone. However, for those who are willing to push aside their preconceived notions, I believe this show can be a treat. Not a pleasant treat, but a treat nonetheless.

  ---

  With that being said, there are spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.

  ---

  Koshiro is a man ten toes deep in depression. So accustomed to the doldrums of adult life, he faintly acknowledges at the beginning of the show, dazedly musing at his disheveled face in a train station bathroom, the fact that Spring has finally rolled around,

  

  "It's been a while since I stopped caring about the change of the seasons... How important is the meaning that it's Spring now?"

  Finishing this inner monologue of his, he almost forgets his work bag going out. This blurring of the passage of time speaks volumes of the life he has been living up until this point. It's as if every little memory he has created on in his daily life could be just as easily forgotten as that bag he almost left behind. Everything seems to have obscured into an insignificant cloud of existence without meaning. Estranged from everyone except a friendly coworker in Chidori, his father who he has naught but a cordial relationship with, and an ex-girlfriend who he never even loved, it is no surprise that he feels the way he feels. To the critical eye, he is a lifeless, unambitious, gloomy sad-sack who is feeling particularly sorry for himself. While Koshiro could probably stand to do more to better himself, this is not a story about self-improvement, discipline, and conventional character growth. It's far more personal, and in my view, powerful. The story of Koshiro is much more about the story of a person whose emotional needs were never, ever met in his life, and for the first time discovering what it means to authentically feel. In a flashback in episode 4, Koshiro recalls his ex-girlfriend asking him, "Koshiro, have you ever felt a longing for someone from the bottom of your heart?" In the present, he retroactively responds, simply, "No." It is not out of a lack of desire, however, as we learn in episode 8, despite his own love life being in shatters,

  "I wanted to be close to people so I can see them smile and cry. I wanted to put myself in a place where people can meet and separate. Maybe I’ll be able to do as they do, someday. That’s what I thought."

  But this could not be any further from the truth up till this point in his life. He has been indefinitely consumed, most likely for numerous years, by an apathy and loneliness that has left him dismissive of cultivating any meaningful form of intimacy. Additionally, I believe Koshiro suffers from Childhood Emotional Neglect. As we see, again, in episode 8, through Koshiro's past memories, ever since he was a child, he has had trouble expressing himself. Although never explicitly mentioned, I can assume his emotional needs were never met by his parents because they were caught up in their own divorce, while Koshiro essentially had to figure things out by himself. All this has lead to Koshiro being the awkward, loveless, and emotionally inept person he would eventually become as an adult. However, these jaded feelings soon change when he coincidentally meets again with a 15 year old girl he returned a train pass to after her dropping it, deciding to go to the nearby amusement park with her after receiving some free tickets from his work. After sharing a heart-to-heart about their past breakups in a ferris wheel, Koshiro begins to feel something he has never felt before in his life: love.

  

  These feelings soon morph into self-hatred and dismay after learning that this girl, Nanoka, is in fact his sister. The apathy that had once robbed his heart of intimacy has now been pierced, opening him up to an unknown world. What should feel like salvation and relief has instead become complete and utter turmoil. In an attempt to salvage himself and protect her from his own feelings, Koshiro turns to berating her, ignoring her, and generally acting like a jackass to her for the first half of the series. Though he may have benevolent intentions, he still falls victim to his own desires, doing highly questionable things like sniffing her underwear and masturbating to her. These acts bring him towards a deep downward spiral of agony, paranoia, and self-hatred that are emotionally palpable.

  Though they eventually learn to reciprocate each other’s love, it was never a pretty process. The trials to reach fleeting moments of love and joy are quite slow, yet uncompromisingly direct in revealing what each characters go through. Little is left up to imagination. This show blurs the line between fiction and reality by uncovering humanity at its weakest, most fragile, and most humiliating moments. Frankly, however, I found myself empathizing far more with the pain and suffering of Koshiro than any western romance movie. His character arc isn't some success story of revenge or overcoming insurmountable obstacles; it's dealing with shitty circumstances to the best of his abilities. Perhaps it may be my own sadomasochistic mind that indulges in this sort of material, but I digress. It is presented with this delicate balance that is simultaneously not intentionally made to garner meaningless, cheap sympathy, nor is it trying to make us hate the character. The show, more than anything else, encourages understanding rather than judgment, which sounds cliche, but it is incredibly difficult to slickly pull of. The main reason why is that it is presented realistically, with no cent of authenticity spared. The depths to which the Koshorio's emotions, ranging from longing to alienation to loneliness to denial to jealousy all coalesce into this very human tale that is only reached by a very select handful of dramas across any mediums. Stripped of this superfluous drama and instead focusing a more focused, personal experience, Koi Kaze matches Koshiro's experiences to be equal to that of an average existentially lost and lonely 20-something.

  ---

  Now, finally, onto the most controversial part of the show: the ethics. In my view, the author wanted the viewer/reader to come to five conclusions at the end of the show:

  1. Koshiro and Nanoka have "real" romantic feelings for each other that are not the result of fetishization.
  Evidence: Check 2 & 3.

  2. In Koshiro's case, though there are certainly hints of infatuation and lust that he falls victim to which influences his relationship and view of Nanoka (e.g. sniffing her underwear and masturbating to her), it’s ultimately the feeling of love which prevails as his primary feeling towards her.
     Evidence: We see this when we learn about Koshiro’s true feelings towards his ex (and we can assume his previous ex’s): “I wasn’t having a relationship with her just for sex. But even if I was, I don’t think that’s so wrong. Is loving someone such a big issue? Is longing for someone something you can be so proud of? What kind of feeling is ‘longing for someone’ anyway?” (episode 4) We learn from this through insinuation that Koshiro was actually just sticking with her from the sex, despite what he says, and I believe this conclusion can be generalizable for his previous relationships as well. When talking about his feelings for Nanoka in episode 11, he mentions, “I felt this way for the first time in my life.” Though it may be subjective, I do not believe this is simply infatuation, which primarily consists of lust (though it may be of influence), I believe this is love.

  3. In Nanoka's case, though she has not fully matured into an adult yet, she is cognizant of the repercussions of her love and has a depth of feelings that are equivalent to that of someone who is truly in love in a traditional relationship. Nanoka was not manipulated and/or groomed into loving Koshiro; she is a character with her own intentions and thoughts and made decisions of her own accord.
     Evidence: We see this around episode 6 as she comes to terms with her own feelings. Also, towards the end of the series, Chidori, arguably the most mature and well-grounded character of the series recognizes this when she is chewing out Koshiro for wanting to be with his sister, apologizing to him for placing all the blame on him because Chidori recognizes that Nanoka’s feelings are legitimate, but also chastising Koshiro for not being the “adult” and ending the relationship before they would run into real world problems.

  4. Society will not approve of them being together, regardless of whether or not a few of those close to them may approve it. Their relationship does not exist in a vacuum.
     Evidence: We see this at the end of the series with a metaphor when Nanoka and Koshiro write their names in the trees at the amusement park area, and the contractors decide to tear the trees down. One of the contractors mentions, “Developing big shopping malls in suburban areas is the recent trend... There are more people who want the mall built than people who object to it.” Essentially, majority rules, society won’t allow their relationship to exist.

  5. Love is more of an emotional process rather than a logical one.
     Evidence: Time and time again, Koshiro knows in his heart-of-hearts that he has to separate from Nanoka and/or keep a firm distance from her to preserve a standard brother-sister type of relationship. There are a large pool of quotations from the show detailing how he wants to preserve that relationship and him hating himself for having the feelings he does, but despite all the self-restraint, he is overwhelmed by his own emotions when Nanoka reciprocates his love. Even at the end, Koshiro has an internal monologue when Nanoka tries to approach him to convince himself that he needs to stop this, but he can’t. Koshiro logically knows and wants to convince himself to just shoo Nanoka away to avoid the pain that is certain to come, but he can’t. He loves her too much. His feelings overwhelm him. “I don’t need anything. As long as I have you with me, I don’t need anything.” (episode 12) Though this may be indicative of somebody who is simply just lovesick, are these feelings necessarily wrong?

  Outside of that, though the author may want you to ultimately come to the conclusion that incest is at the very least morally neutral between to consenting, genetically related adults (age of consent in most prefectures in Japan is 16 years old, not 13 like it is at the base national level, from what I understand) who are in love, that is much more in the hands of the viewer/reader than anything else. Nowhere in the show are the viewers given any indication that incest is inherently good. Is loving and feeling loved by your 15-year old sister an ethical situation to inject yourself into and pursue? Though I can genuinely understand the lovesick, depressed state Koshiro is going through, and resonate with the desire to connect with the one person who makes him feel something, anything for the first time in his life, I cannot with full confidence condone his actions. Though Nanoka is seemingly precocious and understands the situation, it is only after being lectured by Chidori that she reflects on the reality of her love. I have learned time and time again in my life that I would not engage in the same potentially life-changing decisions I had confidence in when I was younger compared to my present/future self. Though love will always be emotional, still balancing it with the wisdom that comes with learning the accountability of one's actions later on in life is crucial to making any life-altering decisions. Indeed, people need to learn to trust their gut sometimes, and even learning to overcome the failures of their intuition, giving a 15/16 year old the decision to permanently alter her life is negligence and immaturity on the part of the 27 year old, even if their feelings for each other are genuine. Nanoka can say she understands what will happen if they stay together and even be willing to commit suicide with him to avoid becoming socially outcasted in its most extreme forms (no jobs will hire, potential imprisonment, cutting ties with families and friends, earning the scorn of anyone who knows their situation, etc. etc.), but it's beyond me to grant that responsibility to her and approach it with fully-processed rationale.

  In playing devil's advocate, I think a few conclusions can also potentially be drawn as to inethicality of their relationship:

  1. Regardless of how desperate, bummed out, or unlucky Koshiro has been with developing true love in his relationships with his ex-girlfriend(s), it is immature of him to use his lovesickness as a justification for pursuing his love for romantic love for his sister when knowing full well this would wreck her life, even if they both understand that. He ought to take more ownership and restraint because he knows more and has less to lose than Nanoka, who has a life full of potential ahead.

  2. Koshiro is a pedophile (or hebephile/ephebophile) who has committed statutory rape, and is a criminal under the law. Both the letter of the law and his own potential paraphilia out him as a criminal.

  3. Koshiro may just have feelings of infatuation born out of desperation rather than love (which I would disagree with), which would sully the more pure expectations and feelings of Nanoka which are true love. His raging hormones may not be representative of his true feelings that would happen with more clear-headed, rational introspection. We see signs of this when he sniffs her underwear and jacks off to her even though he hardly knows her, as well as (arguably) not having many very quality interactions between the two characters in the show that strongly indicate a development of romantic feelings rather than just gut reaction.

  4. Nanoka, though she acknowledges the danger of pursuing her feelings and states that she is not afraid to be outcasted and even die with Koshiro, may not feel the same way in a few years. Not allowing her the time to fully develop into her own, but still throwing her into an incredibly life-altering situation, is unfair to her.

  

  Luckily, I think one thing changes the nature of the relationship and gives me hope for a future in which Nanoka and Koshiro are at a level playing field: the promise to meet once each year at the end of the show. From my understanding, the ending of the show implies that the relationship will not be accepted in society, so they will meet up once per year in order to keep their distance while still maintaining some semblance of intimacy until they are ready to move on in their relationship. Perhaps with Nanoka maturing into her own, separate from Koshiro, can their relationship become one that isn't simply all temporary sparks of emotions and love, but instead manifests into one with the benefit of hindsight and earned wisdom learned from years of self-reflection and maturation on the part of each characters. So, with this in mind, my approach to this relationships is similar to that of Chidori in episode 13 in her final farewell to Koshiro,

  "I won’t say good luck, but please take care."

  ---

  Anyways, Koi Kaze is a fantastic show regardless of my ambivalent attitude on the ethics of the show. The bittersweet, melancholic tone and harshly accurate portrayal of depression and societal estrangement are unmatched across all artistic mediums. I find it difficult to not want Koshiro to find happiness despite his sometimes pathetic and immature shortcomings. Both him and Nanoka are not bad people. I know I run a slippery slope by saying this, at a subjective level, I think genuine human intimacy and close relationships are integral to the human experience and find it incredibly disheartening to see somebody not attain that. I'm partial to him because I deeply resonate with some of Koshiro's experiences (depression, loneliness, apathy). Therefore, I find it reassuring that the author had the artistic wherewithal to express my particular experience in an this show, because it's something that's very rarely captured well. Does it have to be his sister? No. But it has to be someone that he truly appreciates and makes him happy. Same principle applies to Nanoka.

  Devoid of the irony, comedy, rushed pacing, sporadic tonal shifts, and sensory overstimulation the vast majority of shows demand of you, this show instead invites you to focus and look deep within. Much of the runtime consists of Koshiro and Nanoka in quiet pondering or observation. There's long periods of silence, with no music or dialogue to engage the viewer. It's really unsettling in that sense, because it does not pull any punches with the relevant, but difficult emotions and experiences that often go unexplored, bordering on second-hand embarrassment you get as the viewer in the awkward situations Koshiro finds himself in. Koshiro's blundering, boorish, and thoroughly uncharismatic nature certainly exacerbate that. It makes for a show that is admittedly one-note in nature (melancholic, awkward, somber), but unlike any other I've seen. Koi Kaze also subverts fictional orthodoxy, leaving problems in a constant state of being in flux. It's seemingly one complication after another that never fully fixes the underlying problems in Koshiro's and Nanoka's world, relaying oftentimes unfortunate truth that every good comes with a cost. Even in conveying all this, however, Koi Kaze never feels forceful, melodramatic, or like it has an agenda. Though they have their own merits in what they accomplish, that's why shows such as Evangelion that has a plot focused on mechs and cute anime girls (with it just being a vehicle to explore how broken the characters are) or a show like Welcome to the NHK (which is one of my favorites, but uses black comedy to get its point across), lack the same consistently straight-to-the-point dramatic fervor which really captures the human experience without any distractions. That's why Koi Kaze is the most realistic show I have ever watched, regardless of medium. Storybook lifestyles with ridiculous fictional circumstances have been milked to no end, and it is rare to find one so humble and seemingly unpretentious with this level of depth in comparison. So, with that being said, yes, Koi Kaze is a controversial tale, but a truly human one at its heart that has quickly become one of my favorite shows of all time.

  (Edit: small grammatical and phrasing adjustments to the paragraphs. Added a few extra thoughts. Also raised score from 85 to 95)

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• 

  Kimiadesu

  85/100
  Koi Kaze is one of the most underrated anime I’ve ever seen :( I wish more people knew about it.

  __Story__ Koi Kaze, is an anime that is about a 27 year old guy who falls in love with a 15 year girl not knowing she is his sister. I don’t really care about incest so I wasn’t really bothered by the theme of this anime. I have to admit this anime was one amazing romance anime. This anime deals with age gaps and incest pretty smartly. It made me care about characters so much. I felt their pain and happiness the whole time. The pace was a bit slow but it didn’t make the anime boring, just realistic. One thing I really liked was that it showed boys have feelings too. And not a lot of anime show this side of boys. This anime is really heavy and deep and I don’t know why it’s barely viewed by people. The drama was great I think a few of us can relate to the characters. Not in the incest aspect but all the drama and problems they go through. This kind of romance with no Ecchi involved was a good change of pace. One of the things I liked about this anime was the flashback episodes. It showed young Koushirou and what started happening when his sister was born. As a person who has a younger brother I completely felt all the stuff he felt. They even showed what divorce does to kids. I really liked this anime and I really want more people to watch this. This anime is an example of a serious and interesting look into a possible scenario for a incestuous theme anime that is more believable. The divorce and things the main character went through made the psychological aspect of this anime pretty good. It made the story way more amusing. __Characters__ I can’t find any flaws with the way characters were written. Before talking about the two main characters I’m gonna talk about the rest of the characters. All the characters in this anime were realistic. Not only with their designs, but their personalities as well. How they reacted to Koushirou loving his young sister or how they behaved were all realistic unlike other anime that go all supportive and happy in this anime we saw that no character accepted this love. I really liked how realistic this anime was. Now I’ll talk about our two main characters. __Nanoka Kohinata__ Nanoka is the little sister I kept talking about. I found her appearance beautiful. But her personality was confusing. You can say Her personality was flawless but that was weird. She was the perfect little sister and since she and her brother were apart for so long it made this side of her personality weird. She tried really hard to make Koushirou like her, not in a romantic way but sibling way, and she kept failing. She kept trying and trying and I really liked this part of her personality. __Koushirou Saeki__ Unlike Nanoka, Koushirou couldn’t accepted a little sister living in the same house as him after all this time. Panties, bras and a sister who kept being like “Onii-chan” everywhere. He just couldn’t take it. By that I don’t mean not liking the sister he has, I mean not seeing her as a sister. This made his personality and behavior realistic. He was heartbroken and alone so Ofc this beautiful girl being around made him fall for her. This may sound weird, but I liked how he reacted after finding out his own desires. He left the house and stopped any contact with his sister. He believed this desires and love he has for her are all wrong and he should stop. I really liked this. The Characters in this anime are really amazing. __Art & Animation__ Lets be honest, the art wasn’t good at all. some point the characters looked weird and the other they looked flawless. The old style this anime has makes it hard for people that like modern anime to watch it, but even with the old style I still enjoyed it pretty much. Background and sceneries were detailed and pretty good. The only thing that bothered me were the humans animated. They looked some how weird specially with their designs. The character designs were average and looked realistic. Unlike modern anime this anime didn’t have that colorful aura. Since that fact made the anime more realistic I didn’t dislike it at all. Overall I really liked the animation even though I would have changed some things personally. I wish they would’ve remade this anime with better quality and animation or even make another season but they left it at that. __Soundtracks __ The opening was stunning. Not only the video but the lyrics and music sounded amazing. Every episode I watched the opening enjoying the music but after the first episode I skipped the ending. The endings music was ok but the video wasn’t anything special and both, opening and ending, lyrics were amazing. The voice acting wasn’t that good especially for Nanako. I think it got on my nerve the first 3 episodes but later on I got used it so... yeah the voice acting could be better. The ost, original sound track, was amazing. Especially in the drama scenes they were used smartly. The ost matched the mood and it makes the viewer feel all the emotions. They did a great job on the ost and music but the voice acting could be better. To be honest I thought this anime is for 19s because of the voice acting and animation but I was wrong. Wish they would remake this masterpiece. __Overall__ This anime is really captivating. It opened my eyes to a lot of sensitive topics. It was real and there wasn’t any weird drama involved. The ost, original soundtrack, wasn’t bad and I enjoyed it. I never thought I would enjoy Koi Kaze this much but I did! If you like romance and psychology then this anime is for you! One thing that made me fall in love with this anime is that it deals with sensitive topics perfectly. Koi Kaze is one of the most underrated anime I’ve ever seen :( I wish more people knew about it.
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